Our authors are experts in their field and include barristers, solicitors, judges, mediators, academics experts from a range of related disciplines.

Nik Yeo

Nik Yeo is a barrister at Fountain Court Chambers, with a particular focus on banking and financial services litigation and fintech litigation and regulation (including cryptocurrency litigation).  He is recognised as a leading junior in cryptocurrency disputes (Legal 500’s Junior of the Year 2023 in Tech, Data and Crypto), banking and finance, financial regulation, commercial dispute resolution, IT disputes, and professional negligence (Chambers & Partner’s Junior of the Year 2016 in Prof Negl).

ny@fountaincourt.co.uk

Articles by author

Battle of the acronyms: GDPR vs AI – automated decision-making by ride-hailing apps

The Amsterdam District Court has recently considered three cases involving ride-hailing apps which throw into focus the nature of automated decision-making processes, particularly those which involve Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (already used by banks across a range of business areas). Although the issues arose in a GDPR context, it is instructive to see how the court addressed them in Applicants v Uber BV (case number C/13/692003/HA RK 20-302), Applicants v Uber BV (case number C/13/687315/HA RK 20-207), and Applicants v Ola Netherlands BV (case number C/13/689705/HA RK 20-258).

1 JUN 2021

Tiptoe through the tulips: fiduciary and common law duties of care in cryptocurrency

Tulip Trading Limited v Bitcoin Association for BSV and ors [2022] EWHC 667 (Ch) involved an unusual claim by an alleged owner of Bitcoin seeking to force core developers of the Bitcoin code to take reasonable steps to “patch” that code to circumvent the fact that the claimant no longer controlled the relevant private key. This was analysed by the court on traditional principles of fiduciary duties and common law duties of care, but more broadly the claims can be seen to challenge the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin blockchain and the importance of private keys to the certainty and security of that blockchain.

1 JUL 2022

Crypto exchanges: the basics

In this article Nik Yeo clarifies some basic contractual and proprietary principles in relation to the use of crypto exchanges.

1 JUL 2023

Byers v Saudi National Bank: bona fide purchase, knowing receipt and crypto litigation

In this article Nik Yeo looks at how the Supreme Court’s decision in Byers has clarified important differences between the bona fide purchase defence to an equitable proprietary claim and the distinct personal claim for knowing receipt, particularly relevant in litigation against recipients of cryptoassets.

1 FEB 2024